Life & Culture

Brussels, a major international city, tourist hub and home to nearly 1,1 million residents, is often seen as a place of unity. It is the capital of federal Belgium, the heart of the EU and host to NATO, international financial institutions and major corporations. Yet, it is also the central battleground in ethnically and linguistically divided Belgium, the former seat of a particularly brutal colonial empire and a place of significant social divisions, highlighted by its 16 per cent unemployment rate.

Since reading Michael Herr’s Dispatches, I wanted that book in my personal collection. I picked it out at a library in Madrid and for three days, I could not put it down. When I returned it, I bought it on Amazon. Now it is on my shelf, alongside the works of other great reporters such as Wilfred Burchett, John Reid, Phillip Knightley, Robert Kaplan, Alan Moorehead and Blaine Harden.

Sierra Leone is a beautiful country on the bulge of West Africa. Coconut palms and flame trees line its beaches against some of the most amazing sunsets I have seen ever. Lush green mountains and white sands under pure blue skies reflect the three colours of the national flag.

News of Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton was quite a breath of fresh air at a time of austerity. Although this royal engagement and wedding comes at a very difficult time, it is a welcome announcement that will have profound repercussions not only on the Royal Family, but also on the City of London.

Life in the countries of Europe is becoming far less original that it used to be. This is due to globalisation that is leading to the gradual disappearance of differences in lifestyle among the numerous European peoples.

Having lived near Mount Kenya for most of my life in the town of Nyeri in the Central Province of Kenya, I have grown so accustomed to the mountain that I almost ignore it despite its imposing beauty. The jagged snow capped peak was part of my childhood scenery. I revered it but kept my distance.